Close to 150 million beverage containers have been recycled since the introduction of the Beverage Container Refund Scheme nine months ago, successfully recouping plastic, glass and cans that would have littered Malta’s beaches and environment.

Malta is the first southern European country to introduce such a deposit and return scheme and close to 900,000 containers are being collected on average each day during August.

A BCRS Malta spokesperson said: “These figures are something that all those who have the island’s environment at heart should celebrate because there has been a marked decrease of beverage containers strewn on our streets or dumped at sea, among others.”

Just last year, Malta was among the EU’s laggards, recycling just 20 per cent of the estimated 230 million beverage containers placed on the market every year. The introduction of the BCRS has turned this around and in less than a year it has surpassed the EU average of 41 per cent, successfully recouping 74 per cent of beverage containers.

European countries which introduced such schemes have witnessed a high reduction in the rate of littering, as customers have an economic incentive to return the containers. Even if abandoned by the buyer, the deposit means someone else is likely to find and return them to reclaim the money, something many in Malta have quickly caught on to.

With the subject of rubbish being irresponsibly dumped making the headlines, BCRS is urging the public to responsibly dispose of its refuse through the proper and numerous channels available.

BCRS said its teams were also working round the clock to keep up with the huge numbers, as well as clearing its hubs every day, and ensuring these are washed according to a weekly schedule.

CCTV systems overlooking the reverse vending machines are connected to the systems of the LESA enforcement agency, which have already assisted in issuing hundreds of littering fines.

“BCRS machines are just one of the solutions introduced to safeguard our environment and address the littering problem — irresponsible dumping outside reverse vending machines, other bring-in sites or overflowing bins have to be addressed through education and enforcement.”